Climate and Soil Interactions in the Context of Climate, Water, Ecosystems and Food Systems

Abstract:

Soil as source of ecosystem services is a major component of climate resilience. Two of the critical ecosystem services derived from soil are water and nutrient cycling. High quality soils improve the capacity to absorb and retain precipitation leading to enhanced water availability to plants which increases climate resilience. The trend towards increasing variability in precipitation requires that the soil be capable of maintaining infiltration rates under extreme precipitation events. Climate resilience will occur when crop productivity is stabilized under more variable climate regimes and dependent upon having adequate soil water supplies to each crop. There is a direct relationship between soil quality and crop productivity and as the soil resource is degraded there is a greater gap between attainable and actual productivity of crop. As the soil is improved there is enhanced nutrient cycling which in turn increases nutrient availability to the crop and food security. Soil becomes the foundation of sustainable ecosystems and enhancing the quality of soil will have a benefit to food and water resources. Improving the soil will benefit humankind through multiple impacts on water, food, and ecosystems.